Andragogy; A definition

Andragogy is the methods and techniques used to facilitate and guide the learning for those who are mature enough to take responsibility for their actions and ownership of their own personal learning journey.

While looking into the subject of Andragogy I was amazed at how poor the definitions I found are. Poor might not be the right term, they just were not robust enough. The definitions I found were very short and sweet. The first simply defined andragogy as “the methods or techniques used to teach adults” (Dictionary.com). Frankly I wanted a little more meat to my definition then this. The second was not much better. “Andragogy is the theory and practice of education of adults” (Wikipedia).

Both of these definitions mention adults. The prefix “andra” does refer to adults but what we are missing here is what is meant by adult. Traditionally we think of an adult as a person who has reached a certain age that allows them certain rights of citizenship like voting etc. When we are talking about education, this simple one dimensional view of who an adult is does not work.  There is no magic age at which a person switches from being a child to an adult with respect to education. In my definition I was a little more specific about the actions of the actual learners. A person who has taken the responsibility for their education and has made the transition of having the learning experience self directed is an adult learner, no matter what their age is.

The other part of the definitions spoke to the methods and techniques. I kind of disagree with this being so simple. It tends to let people believe that the learning is still teacher focused. Of course we still have the development of the curriculum and the teaching plan as well as content, evaluations, rubrics etc. What is missing is the understanding that in adult education the teacher becomes more of a guide to help the students explore, critically reflect and learn. Fundamentally this is the difference between teaching children and teaching adults. All the catch phrases used in post secondary education like student centered or student focused are simply indicating that they are using Andragogy or teaching adults.

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Jeff

Dictionary.com (October 7, 2015) Andragogy, Retrieved from; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/andragogy 

Wikipedia (October 7, 2015) Andragogy, Retrieved from; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy 

 

The Value of education

As I start to explore the many different forms of learning and consider them to the term education I have come to a conclusion, learning will occur with or without formal education but education can never exist without learning. Kind of like the connection between teaching and learning. When we consider these two terms it is very interesting the different points of view of each. "While learning is usually linked to an individual's progress in the acquisition of further knowledge, education is oriented towards a systems approach in which learning is provided in a co-ordinated manner through agencies" (Findsen & Formosa, 2011, p.23). So learning is the small discoveries of new knowledge while being educated in a new subject.

"In his analysis of 'education', Peters advocates that the concept should embody the transmission of that which is worthwhile and valuable" (Findsen & Formosa, 2011, p.22). If education is the transmission of that which is worthwhile and valuable I wonder who determines what information is worth learning and what is not. If you were to measure a certificate of qualification in a trade against a persons Degree in Ancient Chinese History how would you determine the value. In higher education institutions the Degree would hold more weight for positions such as administration. The thought process is that they have gone through the process so they have a better understanding of education even though the Degree does not speak to the ability to deal with the different unions involved or demonstrates ability to manager and work with budgets and within policies and procedures. Of course if we were to walk onto a construction site the Certificate of Qualification in a trade would have the highest value. So this brings me back to my question, who decides?

We could determine the value based simply on income after graduation. Of course this calculation would be based on speculation due to trying to figure out what the wages will be for a particular career and how they will change over time but it is a measure.  There is the other thought that it is determined by employ ability after graduation as if there is an abundance of employers wishing to hire graduates with these skills then the education must of course be valuable. Of course the sensible thought would be a mixture of both. Choosing these types of career paths also help society as there is a need for these individuals. Others will make a choice for formal education that speaks to them as individuals and helps them expand and explore them self. They pick based on the experience and the quest for knowledge, not for employable skills. I must admit that I can not argue against either point of view. The value in the information transferred in formal education then is determined by the individual student after careful consideration of all aspects and what speaks to them.

Personally I feel that no mater what formal education one decides to enroll in, the true valuable learning comes once they have completed the credential and have started to experience the World while putting their new found knowledge to work. You see the science of a subject can be taught but the mastery of the art of that subject must be obtained through years of experience applying that knowledge. In this manor people take the formal education and through experience that involves critical self reflection and then future adjustment, they actually increase the value of that information that has been transferred. In some cases they actually create new knowledge on the subject they were formally trained in while learning at work in an informal manor which in turn will eventually shift the subject being taught (changing the formal information on the subject). The interesting piece is that they never place a credential on this, the informal learning that occurs in later life. New students trying to determine what to enroll in must ask some critical questions so that they can evaluate each choice and make the right one that is the most valuable to them. After graduation they then must take the time to apply that knowledge to their fullest extent so that they become masters of what ever career they have decided on.  The choice is theirs.

Jeff

Findsen, B. & Formosa, M. (2011) Lifelong Learning in Later Life, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Sense